Ecterine watched Roberto come up the path. He greeted her kindly and lifted her latest tile denoting the sun setting among the islands.
She was glad of his help but it pained Ecterine that she could no longer climb to the sacred wall to place it herself, as the women of her tribe had always done.
“Will you ask again in the village, Roberto?” said Ecterine anxiously. “I must have an apprentice.”
“The young do not understand,” he sighed.
It amused Roberto that his batty old neighbour thought she alone made the sun rise and set. Still, the tourists loved her quirky artwork, so it paid to play along.

Thank you Doug, and thanks for the photo prompt. As a coast-dweller who never leaves the shore empty-handed I really loved it.
Re the name Ecterine, I was looking (i.e. googling) for a name that meant ‘innocent,’ as that is how I saw the female character. Of the many that I came across I chose this one because it sounded a bit unusual, and also meant ‘aspires to responsibility’ so I thought it was perfect for her. Glad you liked it 🙂

Thanks Lisa, so many things are lost for want of someone to pass them on to. It was only when my mother died that I realised just how much I had learned from her, and from the generations that went before her

What a beautiful, tender story! I loved that old woman. Glad that Roberto humored her, and didn’t openly mock her.
And your imagination is brilliant — I didn’t see the rising sun in that picture, until you mentioned it in your story! Lovely!